Julien Hammerson

SS&C Technologies Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: SSNC) has announced it has completed its acquisition of Calastone from global investment firm Carlyle. Calastone is the largest global funds network and leading provider of technology solutions to the wealth and asset management industries. The purchase price is approximately £766 million (approximately US $1.03 billion), subject to certain adjustments.

SS&C funded the purchase with a combination of debt and cash. As part of the transaction, SS&C upsized its Term Loan B facility by $1,050 million, which has an interest rate of SOFR+200 and matures in 2031. The transaction is expected to be accretive over the next 12 months.

Effective immediately, Calastone’s team of 250 employees will join SS&C Global Investor & Distribution Solutions. They will report to General Manager Nick Wright. Calastone has an extensive global network, with offices in London, Luxembourg, Hong Kong, Taipei, Singapore, New York and Sydney.

Calastone’s technology solutions complement SS&C’s offerings in fund administration, transfer agency, AI and intelligent automation. The combined team will deliver a unified, real-time operating platform to reduce cost, complexity and operational risk for fund industry participants worldwide. Clients will benefit from enhanced distribution, investor servicing and operational scalability.

“Calastone’s network and technology further strengthen SS&C’s leadership across global fund operations,” said Bill Stone, Chairman and CEO of SS&C Technologies. “Together, we will accelerate innovation for our clients, expand our reach, and continue to simplify the way the industry operates.”

“This is an exciting new chapter for Calastone,” said Julien Hammerson, CEO of Calastone. “Joining SS&C gives our clients and employees access to greater scale, investment, and opportunity. We’re proud of what we’ve built and look forward to contributing to SS&C’s continued growth and global success.
SS&C was advised by Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP.

The post SS&C Technologies completes acquisition of Calastone appeared first on AdviserVoice.

Julien Hammerson

Calastone, the largest global funds network and technology solutions provider to the wealth and asset management industry, today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by SS&C Technologies Holdings, Inc. (“SS&C” or Group: Nasdaq: SSNC), a global leader in investment and financial services software and solutions, in a transaction valued at approximately £766 million (which is approximately US$1.03 billion). The acquisition is subject to customary regulatory approvals and is expected to close in Q4 2025.

The transaction represents a significant milestone for Calastone, and a strong endorsement of the company’s network, technology and client relationships built by the team over the past 17 years. Upon completion, Calastone will operate as part of SS&C’s Global Investor & Distribution Solutions division, enabling the combined group to further scale innovation, service delivery, and operational efficiency across the global wealth and asset management ecosystem.

Founded in 2007, Calastone operates the world’s largest transaction network for investment funds, connecting over 4,500 financial organisations across 57 markets. The firm’s technology, products and infrastructure have transformed how firms automate and scale fund operations, creating efficiencies across trading, settlement, and distribution.

Calastone’s global fund network and technology complement SS&C’s leadership in fund administration, transfer agency services, AI and intelligent automation. By combining capabilities, the two companies will deliver a unified, real-time operating platform to reduce cost, complexity, and operational risk across the global fund ecosystem as well as shaping distribution. This strategic alignment enables enhanced distribution, investor servicing, and operational scalability – empowering asset and wealth managers to innovate, diversify products, and deliver better outcomes for investors worldwide.

“This is a proud moment for everyone at Calastone,” said Julien Hammerson, Calastone CEO. “SS&C’s global scale and deep expertise across fund services and technology will enable us to accelerate innovation and deliver new digital capabilities to the market. We look forward to working together to deliver transformational services to asset and wealth managers and drive growth. I am immensely grateful to the entire Calastone team for their dedication and to our clients for their continued trust.”

“We are excited to welcome Julien the Calastone team and their valued clients to SS&C,” said Bill Stone, Chairman and CEO of SS&C Technologies. “Calastone has built an impressive network and platform, and together we will create a more connected, automated and intelligent global fund ecosystem. This combination reinforces our commitment to delivering innovative, scalable solutions to reduce complexity and enhance outcomes for the asset and wealth management industry”. 

The transaction follows Calastone’s successful partnership with global investment firm The Carlyle Group, who acquired a majority stake in Calastone in 2020. Since then, Calastone has delivered material growth and strategic diversification by expanding its international footprint, investing in and enhancing its product suite to address ETFs and digital investments through tokenisation.

Fernando Chueca, Managing Director on the Carlyle Europe Technology Partners investment advisory team, said: “We are pleased to have supported Calastone through such a transformational period of growth for the business. Its well-established technology network represents a differentiated, automated offering and we believe the business is well-positioned to build upon its market position and business momentum. We are confident that SS&C is the right partner to continue Calastone’s success, and we look forward to watching the company thrive in its next phase.” 

Barclays served as exclusive financial advisor to Calastone. Linklaters and Mishcon De Reya served as legal advisors to Calastone in connection with the transaction.

The post Calastone to join SS&C Technologies appeared first on AdviserVoice.

This innovative service delivers a simple, frictionless route into tokenisation, without requiring asset managers to change how their funds are structured, administered, or serviced. Yet with one step, they can unlock access to a growing universe of investors who operate exclusively within blockchain ecosystems.

“Calastone Tokenised Distribution offers asset managers a powerful new route to market,” said Adam Belding, Chief Technology Officer at Calastone. “We make it possible to distribute existing funds via blockchain networks, instantly and at scale. without any operational upheaval or technical reinvention.”

The solution bridges the gap between traditional investment funds and blockchain-native networks such as Ethereum, Polygon, and Canton, where investment activity is increasingly executed and settled using digital assets. These networks are attracting a fast-growing class of investors that traditional distribution channels do not reach, including: 

• Corporate treasurers managing substantial on-chain cash balances for yield and efficiency
• Stablecoin issuers and institutional crypto firms seeking regulated investment options without the need to convert into fiat currencies
• Crypto-experienced retail and wealth investors who want access to traditional assets via the same wallets and digital infrastructure they use for digital assets

By embedding tokenised fund shares into these blockchain networks, asset managers gain direct access to new pools of capital, without disrupting existing processes or partnerships.

The solution leverages Calastone’s existing global network – spanning over 4,500 firms across 56 markets – to enable any share class on the network to be tokenised and distributed via public, hybrid, or private blockchains. Orders initiated on-chain are automatically translated and processed through Calastone’s infrastructure, ensuring full compatibility with traditional fund operations.

This enables asset managers to:

• Expand into blockchain-native investor channels with no operational disruption
• Reduce distribution costs via automation and smart contracts
• Maintain existing service provider relationships
• Position themselves for long-term advantage in an evolving investment landscape

The launch follows a recent Calastone study showing that tokenisation could unlock over $135^[1] billion in annual cost savings for the asset management industry, while accelerating fund launches and lowering seed capital requirements.

“The investment world is changing fast,” said Julien Hammerson, CEO of Calastone. “New pools of capital are forming on blockchain networks, and they are not being accessed through traditional channels. Our Tokenised Distribution solution gives asset managers instant reach into these markets, without the requirement or need for transformation. We are making it easy to evolve with the market.” 

At its core, Calastone Tokenised Distribution converts eligible fund shares into smart contract-powered tokens embedded directly onto blockchain networks. These tokens reflect the fund’s full detail, operate with built-in security protocols, and automatically mint and burn in line with real-time subscriptions and redemptions.

The post Calastone launches Tokenised Distribution solution to unlock the future of fund distribution appeared first on AdviserVoice.

Bringing over 30 years’ experience in the IT and asset management industry, Nick is a proven technology leader recognised for specialising in financial sector solutions for fund managers, wealth managers and administrators.  Before joining Calastone, Nick held various c-level leadership roles at Bravura Solutions, including CTO, COO and CEO. Prior to joining Bravura Solutions, Nick was the Chief Technology Officer for DST Global Solutions (now part of SS&C), where he was responsible for driving technical innovation across a diverse product range.

Digital innovation remains a key priority for the business. To continue driving forward the firm’s leadership and market adoption of new digital investment vehicles, Calastone has appointed Adam Belding as Chief Architect, where he will be responsible for leading Calastone’s Digital Investments programme and collaborating with clients to enable new digital ‘tokenised’ investment models – the next generation of collective investment.

Julien Hammerson, Chief Executive Officer at Calastone, comments: “I am delighted to welcome Nick Parsons onboard as Chief Technology Officer. Nick’s exceptional industry experience, deep technological expertise, and proven track record of strategic leadership will play an important role in strengthening Calastone’s senior leadership team.

“The funds industry is undergoing a major transition to digitalisation. As our network continues to grow, Nick will be instrumental in leading our future technology strategy as we expand the business into new verticals and continue to support our clients through the next phase of automation.

“I am proud of the progress we have made so far in driving innovation in the tokenisation of assets. Adam will play a critical role as Chief Architect in leading the funds industry into a new era, which will see tokenised investment vehicles become the standard.”

Nick Parsons, Chief Technology Officer at Calastone, comments: “I am thrilled to be joining the company pioneering the digital transformation of the funds industry globally and transforming multiple new areas of the value chain, and I am looking forward to working with Adam in his new role as we bring our Digital Investments platform to market. I have long admired Calastone’s history of adapting and innovating to meet market needs across the asset management industry and the business is well placed to support asset managers and servicers on their digitalisation journey. I look forward to joining Calastone’s talented and driven team as CTO and helping to drive the growth of the business as it expands globally.”

The post Calastone appoints Nick Parsons as Chief Technology Officer appeared first on AdviserVoice.

Julien Hammerson

Calastone, the global funds transaction network, today celebrates its ten-year anniversary as well as its 300 millionth message processed this month, a substantial increase on its 200 million messages milestone reached in March 2017.

The 50 percent growth in transaction volume over the last 12 months is a testament to the power and momentum that Calastone has been able to generate over the last decade that has seen managed funds grow into a global industry and critical economic pillar.  After making its trade debut in the UK on 22 May 2008, Calastone has scaled from a domestic British start-up to a successful global enterprise and the largest global fund transaction network. Following its early success in the UK, the company quickly expanded, opening offices in Europe, Australia and Asia.

Australia has been a key market for Calastone, where its technology now supports over 97% of transactions processed by investment platforms, with 65% of fund managers using the service to receive and process investor orders and reporting.

Sarah Hayward, Head of Australia and New Zealand Calastone, says “In Australasia, Calastone has grown to be a critical strategic partner for platforms, fund managers and administration providers who have harnessed technology, specifically scalable networks that offer centralised processing, to help future proof their businesses and focus on growth. This has been paramount where regulatory changes have consumed resources and highlighted the need for improved value and less risk for consumers.

Julien Hammerson, CEO Calastone, adds “I am immensely proud to see how far the business has come and the transformative effect Calastone has had in automating global funds order processing. The speed of our growth is testament to the quality, commitment and drive of our team, along with the support of our customers.

Calastone has had a significant impact on the global funds industry, generating hundreds of millions of pounds of cost savings for the benefit of all. We remain committed to our continued investment in innovation and I am excited about the huge potential that our new blockchain infrastructure offers to our clients across the expanding number of markets that we serve.”

The company’s transaction network enables its customers to reduce cost and risk through automated fund order processing, now enabling over 15,000 trading links globally and processing over A$159 billion worth of fund transactions per month. A study from Forrester recently quantified the impact of the firm’s transaction network as being over A$811 million* in cost savings for funds market participants. Calastone predicts greater cost efficiencies in the future through its innovative, blockchain enabled distributed market infrastructure, forecasting additional annual savings of A$3.4 billion.

Key points:

• Ten years since its first trade, Calastone celebrates 300 million messages transacted on its network
• Since launching in 2008, Calastone has grown from a UK domestic business to the largest global fund transaction network, processing over A$159 billion in trades per month across 35 markets
• Calastone’s network has lowered the cost of processing by more than A$811 million*

The post Calastone celebrates ten years digitising the trading of managed funds appeared first on AdviserVoice.

Julien Hammerson

Global funds transaction network Calastone today announced that the technology underpinning its transaction network will be migrated onto a full blockchain-enabled infrastructure.

Calastone’s network connects more than 1,300 financial service organisations across 34 global markets processing over £80bn of trades and 7 million messages each month, making it the largest global fund transaction network. Calastone has transformed the funds sector, enabling frictionless trading by making it possible for all trading entities and counterparties to connect, interact, process and settle transactions digitally.

In June, Calastone successfully completed the first phase of its blockchain-enabled distributed market infrastructure (DMI) proof-of-concept (PoC), which saw Calastone test and verify the feasibility of using the technology to create a global marketplace for the trading and settlement of mutual funds. Today the company announced that 2019 will see the technology underpinning the core of its network moving to a private and permissioned based blockchain infrastructure.

The mutual funds market remains a sector challenged by operational inefficiencies, cost and risk, often resulting in an inability to meet fast evolving customer demands.  The current requirement to replicate and reconcile records across the value chain creates an overhead which dwarfs the benefits already offered by Calastone’s trading and settlement solutions. The move to blockchain enables the firm’s global customer base to plan for and deliver major improvements in a controlled, measured way.

This migration enables Calastone to achieve the highest levels of operational resilience and scale through the distributed, yet private nature of the new blockchain infrastructure. The PoC has proven the performance capabilities that enable the processing of transaction volumes and fund flows to be many times greater than are expected today, demonstrating scalability of the new infrastructure.

Julien Hammerson, CEO Calastone adds; “As we build the business we consistently put innovation and customers first. Our vision remains to work with the industry to reduce the overall total cost of ownership by making it friction-free and increasing value for all market participants. Our services have introduced significant operational and cost efficiencies into the sector and as we scale our business for the future, we are ensuring we have the connectivity and technology to continue to service the increasingly sophisticated demands for efficiency, value and speed.

In making this first step using blockchain, we are providing our customers with the requisite tools they need, to be future-ready. We are delivering a solution that will not disrupt the current connectivity and interaction our customers have with our network, rather putting them in pole position to make the step change to the blockchain when timely and additive to their specific objectives and requirements.”

As an industry sector under increasing cost, operational and regulatory pressures – with the advent of GDPR and the imminent introduction of MiFID II – Calastone recognises that blockchain can provide much needed relief for the funds market in reducing the cost of friction-free trading and the total cost of ownership, whilst delivering the speed of service and regulatory transparency, which will soon be a basic pre-requisite worldwide.

Ken Tregidgo, Deputy CEO, Calastone comments on the scale of opportunity blockchain affords the funds sector; “The funds industry is subject to increasing cost pressures, whilst investors continue to demand increasing returns and regulatory transparency. The initial shift we’re making towards blockchain marks the first major step to addressing these issues offering significant potential for the entire industry. Our network already connects all market participants, from fund managers to transfer agents and distributors, and introducing this new technology offers significant potential for the future, for a friction-free and a more streamlined process for all counterparties worldwide.

Whilst the potential for long term change is great, the migration path for customers to take advantage of the future infrastructure will remain seamless, enabling clients to move when they are ready. A blockchain-enabled marketplace means alleviating operational inefficiencies, increasing performance and generating greater savings – a win-win for everybody.

We’re conscious that developing a better infrastructure, ready to meet the future needs of the industry is a long process, though we’re thrilled to see the first stages of this come into effect and are excited about the opportunities it will bring.”

The post Calastone to bring mutual funds market onto blockchain in 2019   appeared first on AdviserVoice.

Julien Hammerson

Calastone, the global funds transaction network, has reached a significant milestone in its global expansion, with its network now providing over 10,000 trading links worldwide.

The Calastone Transaction Network brings automation to the global funds industry, which has historically relied on manual methods of transaction processing. This is achieved by enabling fully automated trading between participant fund managers and distributors, regardless of technology and geography, making all clients fully interoperable. This growth to 10,000 trading connections reflects an ever-increasing industry willingness to adopt and embrace automation and bring greater efficiency to the fund distribution supply chain.

As the network develops it provides more firms with ease of entry and efficient distribution into new markets through its common connectivity and infrastructure. As the mutual funds industry grows internationally, the need and willingness to adopt automation becomes greater. Calastone, in collaboration with the industry, continues to expand into new regions, with the first trades between New Zealand and Australia recently processed.

Calastone’s technological pedigree has allowed the network to extend across 29 countries and territories and was recognised this month by The Sunday Times, listing it in the Tech Track 100 for the third successive year. Calastone’s vision remains the same as it was at inception in 2008, to make the mutual fund market fully electronic and friction free, while allowing trading partners to communicate regardless of messaging format or connectivity protocol.

Julien Hammerson, CEO of Calastone, said, “I am enormously proud that the Calastone Transaction Network now facilitates over 10,000 trading links. 8 years on since Calastone was founded, this is an important milestone not just for the company but for the industry as a whole as it demonstrates the growing efficiency of the mutual funds market. Calastone continues to drive innovation throughout the funds industry and reaching 10,000 trading links indicates an important shift toward global transaction automation.”

The post Calastone Transaction Network achieves 10,000 global trading links milestone appeared first on AdviserVoice.